CONTACT
e | melissamohrbrown@gmail.com
m | 330 / 231-0154

Hello, and thank you for visiting.

I am an Interior Designer by schooling, experience and licensure, but also have an eclectic mix of interests outside of design. I love being outdoors and would categorize myself as an adventurous person. In March of 2015, after working in interior design and architecture for just under ten years, my husband and I pressed pause on our professional lives, moved out of our home and set out to travel the world. This was a longtime dream finally realized after years of discussion. It was fascinating to constantly be immersed in foreign cultures, always trying to learn from the people, places, and history we encountered oftentimes being inspired both personally and professionally while doing so. We were rewarded by traveling slow, experiencing the places we visited more thoroughly by staying for longer periods of time, renting rooms from locals, walking most places to soak in the average neighborhoods and eating at the street markets or buying from them to cook at “home”. There were a lot of firsts: I got scuba certified in Indonesia diving with 12-foot manta rays, trekked to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, rode a camel through the desert in Jordan, rolled cigars with an old farmer in Cuba, and haggled over handwoven carpets in Turkey. These types of experiences are what make travel so awesome! I also had the opportunity to interact with numerous artisans along the way. These people, mostly women, have sparked a renewed curiosity in me and a desire to dig deeper into the process and traditions of the many textiles, ceramics and artworks we as designers collect and specify in our projects. To me, the human factor and story behind a piece or space serve to make a design so much more impactful.

Prior to my travel sabbatical, I worked as a designer at several multi-disciplinary firms in Los Angeles, primarily focused on workplace, higher education and sports facility project types. I also have experience in the civic, hospitality, retail, senior living and K-12 sectors. I enjoy the challenges and technical aspects of commercial design, but am always open to new areas of work and opportunities to expand my expertise. I think listening to a client is one of the most important factors in creating a successful project, and I enjoy collaborating with my coworkers and consultants to make that happen. I believe in having a good time while doing what I love, and I love what I do!